One Piece Recasts Roger With Solo Leveling Star in Bold Shake-Up

One Piece fans are already bracing for the end of the Egghead arc and the anime shifting to a seasonal schedule, and now there is one more curveball: the Pirate King's voice is changing again.

What changed and when

Starting with Episode 1153, which dropped on December 14, 2025, Gol D. Roger will now be voiced by Shunsuke Sakuya. If Roger does not show up right away, do not be thrown off — the swap is in place, so the next time he appears, it will be Sakuya you hear instead of Masane Tsukayama.

Sakuya might already be familiar to you from Solo Leveling, where he voiced Yoo Myung-han — and yes, the series billed as last year's Crunchyroll Anime of the Year — along with a bunch of other big titles.

'Roger's voice actor has been changed for the third time and will now be played by Shunsuke Sakuya.'

Why Roger's voice keeps changing

This is the third recast for Roger in the Japanese version. The role began with Chikao Otsuka, the original voice of the character. After Otsuka passed away at 85, it went to Masane Tsukayama. Now, with Tsukayama retiring at 81, the torch has been passed again to Sakuya.

It is the unglamorous side of a franchise that has been running for decades: people age, schedules shift, and roles get recast. We have seen it elsewhere in One Piece too — Franky's voice actor, Kazuki Yao, recently retired, and Whitebeard had to be recast after his original actor passed away. None of it is ideal, but it is the reality of keeping a world this big going for so long.

So who is Shunsuke Sakuya?

Sakuya has that low, grounded register you want for a legend like Roger, and his resume backs it up. He has already dipped into One Piece before (as other characters), and he has a track record of playing steady, commanding types.

• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End — Granat (supporting)
• Solo Leveling — Yoo Myung-han (supporting)
• Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — Shigeru Sonoda (supporting)
• Terror in Resonance — Kenjirou Shibazaki (main)
• Naruto — Sakon, Ukon (supporting)
• Bleach — Ryou Utagawa (supporting)
• One Piece — Scotch, Charlotte Daifuku (supporting)

The timing, the season shift, and what to expect

With Egghead winding down and the series moving to a seasonal release plan, this is actually a pretty sensible moment to lock in a long-term voice plan for Roger. If anything, it should help the show keep things consistent from arc to arc.

I am hopeful. Sakuya has the weight and presence Roger needs, and if he can thread that mix of warmth, swagger, and final-boss energy, the transition should feel smooth on screen.

Where to watch

All previously released episodes of One Piece are streaming on Crunchyroll, and you can read the manga on Viz Media.